WASHINGTON (CN) — Celebrating what he termed a “historic milestone” in the pandemic, President Joe Biden addressed the nation Tuesday to mark the week that children under the age of 6 are finally cleared to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
Shipments of kid-safe doses from drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna arrived at some distributors over the weekend, roughly 18 months after the first vaccines from the companies were made available for adults.
“The United States is now the first country in the world to offer safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines for children as young as six months old,” the president said Tuesday.
Moderna and Pfizer received emergency use authorization on Friday and Saturday, respectively, from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to market their immunizations against the coronavirus for children between 6 months and 5 years of age.
“This is the first time in our fight against this pandemic nearly every American can now have access to life-saving vaccines,” the president said, estimating that 18 million children are now eligible for inoculation.
The White House announced its distribution plan to roll out vaccines for children 5 and under two weeks ago, making 10 million vaccine doses available for order by states, tribes, territories and health providers.
Parents can find appointments near them by visiting vaccines.gov. In addition to pediatricians' offices and children's hospitals that are working on the rollout as well with pharmacy partners, the White House has said previously it will coordinate with community-facing venues like diaper banks, health centers, museums and libraries to offer child vaccinations.
“Walgreens, CVS and Walmart are already scheduling appointments for later this week,” Biden said.
Biden called Tuesday's announcement a development eagerly sought by many Americans, including the members of his cabinet.
“We're ready,” Biden emphasized Tuesday. “My administration, with the help of the CDC, has been planning and preparing this moment for this moment for a long time.”
According to CDC guidance, any individual who has already contracted Covid-19 should still get a vaccination to help prevent reinfection. The Pfizer and Moderna shots offer children slightly differing experiences.
For children 6 months through 5 years of age, Moderna hosts a two-dose series, with shots spaced about a month apart, that showed to be 37% to 51% effective in clinical trials. Pfizer’s three-dose series for children 6 months through 4 years of age is roughly 80% effective according to clinical trial data. Pfizer receivers would wait a month after their first dose for their second jab, and follow up with a third jab at least two months later.
The Biden administration has estimated that 85% of children under the age of 5 live within 5 miles of a potential vaccination site, and that the administration has emphasized equity be a priority in distributing vaccines to communities.
As to the safety of the shots, White House officials underlined data indicating that vaccines have made a big difference for kids over 5 years old, and that kids who are vaccinated are far less likely to get seriously ill from Covid, even while the deliberations and the data review for vaccines for kids under 5 are ongoing.
Biden encouraged all parents to vaccinate their children Tuesday, telling them to be cautious about misinformation.
“This is no time for politics,” he said. “It's about parents being able to do everything they can to keep the children safe.”
More than 220 million Americans have been vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States, and nearly half as many Americans have also gotten boosted.
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